By Ella Devereux, Nursing Times
More than 6,000 students have enrolled on registered nurse degree apprenticeships since the programme began in 2017, new figures from Health Education England (HEE) reveal.
HEE stated that this new figure represented a “welcomed boost” to the government target of expanding the nurse workforce by 50,000 by 2024 through improved recruitment and retention.
“Nursing degree apprenticeships offer a great alternative route to becoming a registered nurse” – Mark Radford
Katerina Kolyva, chief executive officer of the Council of Deans of Health, which represents nursing faculties across the UK, welcomed the update.
She said: “This is very positive news and a reminder of the different routes our members offer to provide the future nursing workforce.
“The Council of Deans of Health is particularly supportive of pathways into nursing like this that promote social mobility and widen the pool of applicants to the profession.”
Nursing degree apprenticeships offer flexible routes into nursing that combine paid work and part-time study and usually take four years to complete.
Nursing associates and assistant practitioners can convert to registered nurses through the apprenticeship route via a shortened programme of around two years.
Mark Radford, chief nurse at HEE, said: “Nursing degree apprenticeships offer a great alternative route to becoming a registered nurse.
Read the full article at nursingtimes.net.
